Kelli Howie, born and raised in North and East Texas and is currently celebrating life in Duncanville, Texas . “My grandmother caught me with a paint brush in my mouth after proudly painting the table linens. When I became the chief textile designer for Paige and Utah, I thought back on the preschool incident.”

Texas has been good to me. “My first job was at Neiman Marcus in the 60's when I won a citywide art contest at 13, I was a living display making hippie jewelry for the patrons.”

After earning a BA in Theatre and Art from the University of Dallas, Southern Methodist University awarded the young artist a prestigious Meadows fellowship. With a Master of Fine Arts in Design and the disposition to teach, Ms. Howie became head of the Technical Theatre Department at the nationally recognized Blue Ribbon Dallas High School for the Performing and Visual Arts for 13 years. Making props, costumes and scenic painting for the Dallas Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis , the Dallas Children's Theatre and Discovery Education displays include her work history. “Two of the funniest things I've ever created was a vampire bat-cave for a costal Texas zoo and raspberries the size of basketballs for the Children's Theatre.” She maintains personal discoveries in art with all types of materials and techniques. “I look at raw materials and play until the object becomes beautiful and useful. To my great frustration I cannot weld or sculpt marble. My hands are too small; in my next life maybe God will give me a foot of height and giant hands.”

Invited back to University of Dallas as the adjunct professor of costumes, for five years she worked with the nationally recognized team Pat and Judy Kelly. She taught costuming at Dallas Baptist University . Her last stint as a professor was as Chairman of the Art Department at Wade College where she was awarded best instructor, twice.

“I surrounded myself with other people's art. Human imagination is astonishing and limitless. All people are artistic; one creates their own life and maybe even the chair they're sitting in; someone designed it. I desire to share my art and gifts as the world shares its wonderful cultures with me.”

“Sculpting in clay, both synthetic and earthern, painting in oil and watercolor, and nature photography are my primary mediums. A recent month long photo safari to the end of the earth, New Zealand, yielded thousands of photos. These photos are art in and of themselves as well as inspiration for paintings.”

Kelli Howie works to raise cultural awareness and art appreciation in the greater southwest. With over 30 years of art and theatre experience and service to the community, Empires Who's Who in America presented Ms. Howie with a lifetime achievement award. She was recently named 2006-2007 Empire Professional of the Year representing Visual Arts, Theatre Production and Design.

American Biographical Institute also gave Ms. Howie the distinct honor by adding her to the 2006 list of Great Women of the 21st Century.